Roast lamb with chunky tomato salsa
Recipe by Merrilees Parker
Practically falling off the bone, the tender meat on Merrilees Parker?s slow-cooked lamb shanks is certainly worth the wait.
Serves 2
Ingredients
For the lamb
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp dried ginger
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp turmeric
- Juice and zest of an un-waxed lemon
- 1 small bunch of coriander, leaves picked and stems kept
- 1 small shoulder of lamb
Warm aioli
- 1/2 head of garlic
- 1 free-range egg yolks
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 75ml light virgin olive oil
Chunky tomato salsa
- 4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1/2 red onion, very finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf fresh parsley
- 2 tbsp coriander leaves left over from above
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 sheets of labna bread or 4 flour tortillas
To serve
- Small handful rocket
- 1 small cucumber cut into 8 lengthways
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 160degC/Gas 3/Fan 140. Place the olive oil, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, juice and zest of the lemon, the stalks of the coriander and a good pinch of salt into a blender and blitz to from a smooth paste. Put the shoulder of lamb onto the two large pieces of foil and make lots of incisions with a knife. Next rub the paste all over. Add a couple of tablespoons of water then seal the foil leaving a little pocket of air above the lamb. Place onto a baking sheet and cook for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours open the foil and baste the lamb. Put the garlic bulb into the oven. Cook for a further hour when the lamb should be meltingly tender and the garlic soft. Meanwhile place all the ingredients for the salsa into a mixing bowl, season well and mix thoroughly to combine. Turn off the oven but leave the lamb to rest inside.
To make the aioli:
- Gently heat the olive oil. Squeeze out the really soft insides of the garlic cloves into a blender. Add the egg yolks and some salt and pepper. With the motor running add the olive oil to make a smooth thick sauce.
- Place into a heavy-based saucepan so you can heat through before serving (this could also be done in with a small whisk and a bowl).
To serve:
- Heat the bread in the oven by wrapping in a clean damp tea towel. Shred the lamb using two forks. Give each person a piece of bread smear over the garlic sauce, top with some lamb, a good spoonful of the salsa and finish with some rocket and a couple of slices of the cucumber. Wrap and eat immediately.
